A DURHAM University academic has been freed less than a week after being jailed for life for spying in the Middle-East.

Matthew Hedges was granted a presidential pardon in a decree issued by the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) leader Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Amid world-wide pressure calling for his release, news of the pardon was announced by the UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

His release was among pardons announced for 785 prisoners, made as part of the celebrations leading up the Gulf state’s 47th National Day, next Monday.

Arrangements will now be made for the release of the PhD student, enabling him to return to the UK, almost six months after his arrest at Dubai Airport on spying allegations.

Monday’s decree reiterated that the UAE consider he was still guilty of spying, but his release is being made on the grounds of clemency.

The announcement was greeted with relief by Mr Hedges’ wife Daniela Tejada, who was in the Abu Dhabi court room when he was sentenced, following a five-minute hearing last Wednesday.

She said: “I can’t wait to have him home, as soon as possible.”

But she added that, “in my heart of hearts”, she did not think her husband was a spy.

The news was welcomed by Durham University, which had suspended all field work in the UAE in protest at Mr Hedges’ life imprisonment, among a global backlash, particularly in the academic world.

University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge, said: “We are absolutely delighted to learn the news of Matt’s impending release.

“It is paramount that he is now allowed to return home to Daniela and his family as quickly and safely as possible.

“We will continue to offer Matt’s family our full support in the aftermath of this traumatic ordeal and we will be thrilled to welcome him back to the Durham University community.”

The official Emirates News Agency reported that Mr Hedges, 31, was granted the presidential pardon “with immediate effect” after his family appealed for clemency.

It stated: “The customary National Day Presidential pardon includes Mr Hedges as part of a tranche of clemency orders, issued on the occasion of the UAE's 47th National Day anniversary.

“Mr Hedges will be permitted to leave the UAE once formalities are completed.”

The agency quoted UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, saying: "His Highness the President's gracious clemency in the customary National Day pardons allows us to return our focus to the underlying fundamental strength of the UAE/UK bi-lateral relationship and its importance to the international community.

“It was always a UAE hope that this matter would be resolved through the common channels of our longstanding partnership.

“This was a straightforward matter that became unnecessarily complex despite the UAE's best efforts.”

“The case against Mr Hedges was predicated on evidence secured from Mr Hedges’ electronic devices, surveillance and intelligence gathering by UAE intelligence and security agencies, and evidence provided by Mr Hedges himself, including a corroborated account of asset recruitment and training. and the confidential information being targeted.”

“His recruitment and progress within a foreign intelligence service was authenticated to the court by UAE intelligence agencies.

“The gracious Presidential customary National Day pardon allows us to close this chapter and to concentrate on the many positive aspects of the relationship.”

Over the weekend Home Secretary Jeremy Hunt was in meetings with the UAE’s UK Ambassador Sulaiman Hamid Almazroui, who revealed the clemency route was a possibility, with the country’s National Day looming.

Mr Hunt said news of Mr Hedges's pardon was "bittersweet" given that Briton Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe remains detained in Iran, also accused of spying.

He tweeted: "Fantastic news about Matthew Hedges. Although we didn't agree with charges we are grateful to UAE govt for resolving issue speedily. But also a bittersweet moment as we remember Nazanin & other innocent ppl detained in Iran. Justice won't be truly done until they too are safely home.

Mr Hedges's wife said she and the rest of his family were "elated" at the news he was to be freed.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's taken me by surprise and I'm just so happy and so relieved and really incredulous that it is all happening finally.

"It's been an absolutely nightmarish seven months already and I can't wait to have him back."

Asked about the fact that he was being pardoned rather than the spying charges being quashed, she said: "If that is what it takes for him to be back I just welcome the news."

Ms Tejada said in a statement that her family's "nightmare" was over.

She said: "The presidential pardon for Matt is the best news we could have received.

"Our six-plus months of nightmare are finally over and to say we are elated is an understatement.

"That he is returning home to me and the rest of his family is much more than I was ever expecting to happen this week. I thank you all for your support.

"Without the involvement of the media, the overwhelming support of academics, the public worldwide, the work of the British diplomatic body in the UAE and Secretary Hunt's intervention, this would have never happened.

"I ask for some time to process the news and I will be making more statements in the coming days. Thank you all once again."

Shortly after 11am The United Arab Emirates said Mr Hedges had been released.

British academic Matthew Hedges, who was last week jailed for life in the United Arab Emirates on a spying charge, has been pardoned, an official in the UAE said.

Here are the key dates in his case:

- May 5 2018: British academic Matthew Hedges is reportedly taken into custody at Dubai airport after travelling to the UAE to interview sources about the country's foreign policy and security strategy.

- October 10: A court in Abu Dhabi hears Mr Hedges' case, but adjourns for another hearing on October 24.

- October 11: Mr Hedges' wife, Daniela Tejada, calls on UAE officials to "admit that they've made a mistake" and to release her husband. Ms Tejada says she has not been told what exactly her husband has been accused of, but she does not rule out the prospect of him being accused of spying.

- October 11: Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt personally raises Mr Hedges' case with his UAE counterpart amid concerns over his mental health and well-being.

- October 15: Ms Tejada sees reports that her husband will go on trial for spying and says he is a man of principle with an "impeccable track record".

- October 16: The Foreign Office says it is "deeply concerned" about Mr Hedges.

- October 19: Mr Hedges is said to be suffering from "significant health issues" after spending more than five months in solitary confinement. In a joint statement, Durham and Exeter Universities say they are "deeply concerned" about Mr Hedges' welfare.

- October 25: Mr Hedges denies spying for the UK Government when he appears at the Federal Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi. Ms Tejada says the Foreign Office has been lobbying for Mr Hedges' welfare, but her requests to meet the Foreign Secretary have not been granted.

- October 29: Mr Hedges is released on bail. His wife, Ms Tejada, welcomes the development, adding: "I cannot allow myself to get too excited by this information as Matt is not fully free yet."

- November 21: Mr Hedges is sentenced to life imprisonment in a five-minute hearing at an Abu Dhabi court. Prime Minister Theresa May says she is "deeply disappointed and concerned" about the case, while Mr Hunt urges the UAE to reconsider the sentence.

- November 22: Ms Tejada says she has won assurances that the Government is "now standing up for one of its citizens" after a meeting with Mr Hunt. Prior to the meeting, she had condemned the Foreign Office over its handling of the case.

- November 23: In a statement at the UAE embassy in London, ambassador Sulaiman Almazroui praises the closeness between the two nations as he says clemency is being considered for the "extremely serious case".

- November 25: Mr Hunt has "constructive" talks with his UAE counterpart over the fate of Mr Hedges.

- November 26: Mr Hedges is pardoned in the UAE, as Emirati officials show a video of him saying he is a captain in MI6.